thomson



(No Model.)

J. L; THOMSON. I,

SHOE CLASP. No. 280,534. Patented July 3, 1883.

VV|TNE55E5- {RM/ENTER? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEO JUDSON L. THOMSON,0F SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

SHOE-CLASP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Batent Nb. 280,534, dated July 3,883.'

' Application filed November 16. i882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Jonson L. THOMSON, ofSyracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Shoe-Clasps, of which the following,taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear,and exact description. 7 T This invention relates to an improved clasp,specially designed for the fastening of arctic overshoes; and itconsists in the peculiar c011- struction and combination of itsconstituent parts, as hereinafter more fully described, and specificallyset forth in the claims.

The invention is fully illustrated in the annexed drawings, wherein-'Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved shoe-clasp; Fig. 2, a side viewof the same. Fig. 3 is a detached plan view of the blank from which theclasp proper is formed, and Fig. 4 is a detail plan view of the plate towhich said clasp is hinged.

Similar letters of reference indicate corre sponding parts.

A is a metal plate, which is provided with two or more transverse slots,m, for the purpose hereinafter explained, and may be attached to one ofthe usual flaps on the front or on the side of an arctic overshoe,either by passing said flap through the rearmost slot of the plate andsewing it fastor by means of a rivet inserted through an eye on the endof the plate, as shown.

B is another metal plate, adapted to be secured to the opposite front orside flap of said shoe, said latter plate being provided with two raisedcars, a a, on the edge facing the plate A.

C denotes the clasp proper, consisting of a metal plate provided withtwo ears, e 6, arranged to fit between and abut against the ears a a ofthe plate B. The cars of the clasp O are thus a sufficient distanceapart to form an opening, 21, between them. Said clasp is hinged on theplate B by a pin, 0, passing through the ears a and e.

8 represents a spiral spring surrounding the pin 0 within the openingI), and having its opposite extremities bearing, respectively, on theplate B and clasp C, so as to yieldingly press the free ends of thelatter down upon the plate B.

Central between the ears 6 e the clasp O is provided-with a cam, d, inthe form of ashort hook projecting toward the free end of the clasp. Inthe operation of the before-described devices the clasp proper, G, isintroduced in one of the slots of the plate A, and then swung back uponthe plate B, the spring 3 serving to either accomplish thisautomatically or as sist in the said operation. In swinging back theclasp O, as aforesaid, the plateAis drawn toward the plate B, and thefree end of the former is forced down upon the latter and brought torest against the ears of the plate B, as shown in Fig. 2 of thedrawings. When in this position, the cam d lies in a slot, at, in theplate B.

The slots m of the plate A are of ample width to allow the clasp Gproper and the spring 8 to freely enter the same. The ends of the slotsin are formed with an offset, 41, which narrows the end portions of thesaid slots, so as to fit closely to the cars a a of the plate B, therebypreventing the plate A, when interlocked with the plate B, as beforedescribed, from shifting, so as to allow the plate A to drop under thecam d.

In unfastening the clasp, the clasp-plate proper, C, is-raised and swungforward, there by causing the cam d to lift the plate A off the ears aa. The plate thus liberated is readily slipped off from the end of theclasp C.

In order to reduce the cost of the manufacture of the describedshoe-clasp, I form the clasp proper, O, with its ears 6 e and cam d, inone piece of sheet metal by stamping out a blank (shown in Fig. 3 of thedrawings) and bending the end projections, respectively, into the shapeof the ears 0 e and cam d.

Having described my invention, what I claim is In combination with theslotted plate A, the plate B, provided with the ears (1, the clasp 0,having ears-e e and opening I), the

hinge-pin c, and the spiral spring .8, suramuse, in the county ofOnondaga, in the rounding said pin Within the opening I), and State ofNew York, this 1st day of November, bearing, respectively, on the plateB and clasp 1882.

C, as shown and set forth. JUDSON L. ".III OMSON. [L

5 In testimony whereof l have hereunto \Vitnesses:

signed my name and afiixed my seal, in the H. DUELL, presence of twoattesting witnesses, at Syr- \VM'. RAYMOND.

